Upon notification of his mother-in-law's failing health, Paul Danniers agrees to move with his wife, Colleen, to Praxia Island, a small town off the coast of Maine. The two suddenly find themselves thrust into a society of recluses who obey a peculiar set of rules, including Disappearance - the belief that if two people touch, they disappear.
As their stay extends into months, Paul enters an uncertain spiral of paranoia, and, with the help of the curious and sometimes terrifying residents, begins to uncover the island's secrets - most troubling of which is a deep-rooted connection that Colleen seems to have with the town, one that threatens to possess her entirely.
Rife with rich symbolism and nods to Greek mythology, Warning's Wane is a dizzying study of madness, isolation, and the power of the collective unconscious.
Warning’s Wane by Jaclyn Little is an inventive and moving literary novel about a strange world where touching someone makes both people disappear. Paul Danniers and his wife, Colleen, move to the town of Praxia Island, off the coast of Maine, and finds the residents terrified of disappearing, and fearing each other. Warning’s Wane is a meditation on intimacy and alienation that’s at once shocking and cerebral.
Poetic and supremely well-written, this is the type of self-published book there should be more of: literary, but also with a compelling high-concept idea at its core. At times, the narrative is a bit too disjointed – without some firm background on the story it would be tough to suss out exactly what is happening and why. However, this is more of a slow burn of a read and by the end it all comes together. The book is rich with symbolism and narrative flourishes that can be savored throughout.
The cover does not really do this book justice, and should perhaps be reassessed. But be certain, Jaclyn Little is a writer you’ll be hearing more from. There are a few bumps in the road in this novel, but Warning’s Wane signals the emergence of a lyrical and engrossing new literary author.
